


Two Nights Without Achilles (but with many dogs instead)

by xmzame



Series: Eleven Nights with Achilles [2]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Castiel's POV, Cats too but not as much, Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Dean's POV, Dogs, Established Castiel/Dean Winchester, Established Relationship, F/F, F/M, Family Feels, Festive Dean, Happy Dean, Idiots in Love, M/M, THEY'RE SOOOO IN LOVE, lots of dogs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-28
Updated: 2017-12-28
Packaged: 2019-02-22 22:48:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,064
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13176828
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xmzame/pseuds/xmzame
Summary: 11NWA Christmas Timestamp: Cas comes home with Dean to Long Island for Christmas, and... everything is perfect. Well, some things don't exactly go to plan. Other than that, everything is perfect.





	Two Nights Without Achilles (but with many dogs instead)

**Author's Note:**

> *SCREAMS* I'M A FEW DAYS LATE BUT IT'S OKAY LET'S STILL BE FESTIVE ABOUT CHRISTMAS. I started writing this quite late, it's all a little last minute and I had no idea what I was writing half the time, but I think I'm happy with how it finally turned out! I didn't have time to get this beta read though, so sentences may be kind of wonky :/
> 
> Please read the first part of this series, which is my DCBB, before reading this one. Tons of references are made and it won't be as enjoyable! ;)

****

* * *

 

**1 st December, Friday**

 

Cas stares at the unopened boxes of decorations scattered around Dean, who sits cross-legged on the floor next to a half complete Christmas tree.

“I assume this is what you called me over for?” Cas asks, lowering himself down next to Dean.

“Yeah. And,” Dean answers, turning away from the tree to Cas. He pops the candy cane out of his mouth and flashes Cas a grin. “I kinda missed you,” he adds, putting an arm around Cas’ neck.

Cas smiles. “I know. It’s been a busy week.” He lets Dean pull him in for a short kiss and immediately catches the peppermint on his lips. He pulls back, brows raised in surprise. “That is- _very_ strong.”

“What? You don’t like peppermint?” Dean questions.

Cas lightly shakes his head with a guilty shrug. “I could get used to it.”

“Fine. I’ll accept this one flaw you have,” Dean says, and kisses him another time. “Come on, help me with this tree.” He starts to release Cas from his hold, only for Cas to lean in some more.

“Wait-” Cas dives in and catches Dean’s lips again, holding the kiss for a few seconds before pulling away. “Alright, now I can help.”

“I’ll go put on a Christmas playlist,” Dean says with an excited smile as he reaches for his phone. He scrolls and scrolls and finally clicks shuffle, having _Holly Jolly Christmas_ play first. Dean starts mouthing along to the words and snaps his fingers the moment the music plays.

Cas smiles fondly at him; he knew Dean was a festive person, he learned that very well during Halloween, but it seems like Christmas is _the_ holiday for Dean. Cas himself never had great Christmases and didn’t see much of the hype. Seeing Dean this way makes him very happy, though. Cas also doesn’t have much experience putting up trees besides the few times Gabriel bought a fake tree for them to put up, but he tries to copy what Dean’s doing.

When the tree is set up and Dean places the first ornament, a familiar jingle opens a song, which has Dean even more pumped up than the other Christmas songs. He literally drops the bauble to the floor with an idiotic grin as he runs to the… _pole_ , at the other side of the apartment.

Mariah Carey’s voice fills the room, and before Cas knows it, Dean’s _spinning_ on the pole like it’s the easiest thing to do.

Cas finds himself unable to utter words and lets his jaw stay dropped at the scene before him.

“All I want for Christmas...” Dean sings along, climbing up and letting his body balance with just a twist of his legs on the pole. He grips onto it with one hand, using his free hand to point at Cas. “Is you…”

Cas can’t exactly feel his face right now, but he doesn’t care. Dean drops himself off when the music fastens, hurrying to Cas with a wide grin. He doesn’t wait to put both arms over Cas’ shoulders and kiss him a little messily, nearly missing Cas’ whole mouth.

“Sorry. I’m just- so damn happy, it’s weird.”

“Don’t be sorry. That was amazing,” Cas says, nodding in encouragement. “You should definitely do that more often.”

Dean snorts. “You got a pole kink, or something like that?”

“What- of course not. I don’t know what that is,” Cas says. “But really- did you learn how to do that yourself, or…?”

Dean’s excitement momentarily pauses, and Cas isn’t sure if Dean hesitates to answer or is thinking of how to answer. “Uh…” Dean trails off. He then shrugs and looks back at Cas. “I mean- I probably took like, one course in college back then. It wasn’t my focus or anything. But I did get a lot of practice, sometime after graduating…” Dean’s voice fades out again. Cas sees him raise his brows at him, as if expecting him to react.

“What do you mean?” Cas asks.

Dean pauses again, shrugs again, and lets out a short sigh. “I was a stripper for about a year,” he admits, not sounding ashamed. “I didn’t have a job, money was a little short. The pay wasn’t bad- not bad at all, actually. I even got to make the impulsive decision of getting _that_ ,” Dean explains and points back at the pole. “It’s good exercise.”

Cas nods at him with a caring smile. “I’m glad you told me that, Dean.”

“Really?”

“Of course,” Cas says, reaching for Dean’s hand. “Let’s take a break.”

“ _What_?”

Cas feels his stomach rise up to his throat. “A break- from the tree!” he lets out quickly.

“Damn it Cas,” Dean breathes out, shoulders sagging in relief. “That was bad timing. But yeah, let’s- take a break.”

Christmas songs continue to play in the background while they cuddle up on the couch.

“You don’t have to worry about me being like this for the whole month,” Dean says, slightly lifting his head from Cas’ shoulder. “Give me about a week to lose my festive spirit.”

Cas smiles down at him. “Don’t you dare. I adore this side of you.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

They stay silent for a while, and Cas nearly thinks Dean might have fallen asleep on his shoulder.

“What are you doing for Christmas, Cas?” Dean asks.

Cas doesn’t really know the answer himself. “I’m not sure.”

“What do you usually do?”

“Um, usually? Gabriel and I get drunk. Or do whatever he’s planned,” Cas says. “My other family’s not inviting us obviously, after Thanksgiving. That would be a very awkward Christmas.” A memory of Thanksgiving flashes back in his mind. He’s mostly blocked out the whole evening, but he remembers the highlights in bullet points quite clearly:

_-Cousins have become 30% more accepting_

_-Cousins defending dead sadist uncle_

_-Cousins are still dicks in general_

_-Gabriel threw water at Michael_

_-Angry Michael_

“Well, I’ve got an idea,” Dean’s voice breaks him out of his thoughts. He sits up and faces Cas, placing the top of his head in his palm with an elbow to the couch. “Come home with me. To Long Island.”

“What?” Cas automatically says.

Dean shrugs. “If you don’t want to, that’s really okay. But I just- I don’t know, I don’t think I could be all festive knowing you’re just an hour away not having fun on Christmas.”

Cas ponders on that, staying silent.

“Gabriel could come too. The more, the merrier. My mom would _love_ having you guys around,” Dean adds on. “Sam and Jess already like you, so there’s no problem with that. And _I_ already like you, so. It’ll be great.”

Cas smiles at him and cards his fingers through Dean’s hair. For the first time in a while, Dean’s nervous around him.

“I would love that,” Cas tells him. He looks away and sighs.

“Is there a but coming?”

“ _But_.”

“Ah.”

“Give me some time to think it over, and confirm things with Gabriel.”

“Cool. So that’s a yes?” Dean teases.

Cas grins and gets off the couch. “Let’s finish that tree.”

 

+++

 

**2 nd December, Saturday**

 

“What about the cats?”

Dean doesn’t bother lifting the heavy weight on his lids. “What?” he croaks.

“Who would watch Audrey? And Achilles?”

Dean lets out a yawn and slightly opens his eyes to a pensive looking Cas next to him. His brain isn’t great at registering what’s happening around him at ass o’clock in the morning. He groans and dives his head deeper into his pillow.

“Cas. It’s Saturday, man.”

“Sorry. I thought you’d want to get ready for work soon,” Cas states. That catches Dean’s attention a little bit, and he peeks open an eye to see a light blue sky through the window.

“Damn it,” Dean murmurs. He stretches and sits up, still scrunching up his face. “What time is it? How long have we been talking?”

Cas snickers next to him. “Almost eight. And just a few minutes.”

“Right.” Dean hums, rubs his eyes fully open and sighs. He sleepily smiles at Cas next to him and leans in with a kiss to his temple. “Make me coffee, please?” He asks, sleepy face still on.

“This is  _your_ house,” Cas replies.

“Please?”

He doesn’t miss the light roll in Cas’ eyes. “Fine.” Cas pulls the blanket off himself and softly nudges Dean on the head. “Breakfast too?”

Dean groans. “You’re way too good for me. Yes. Please.”

“Alright.”

Several minutes later, Dean takes a good sip of coffee as he hears the sound of eggs landing on a pan.

“Hey, you were saying something about the cats earlier?” Dean asks.

Cas turns for a moment to Dean and then back to the eggs. “Yes. I was wondering who would watch them while we’re away.”

“Oh. I don’t know, we didn’t have Achilles last Christmas. We could send them to one of those- what do you call it?”

“Boarding facilities?”

“Yeah. I don’t know if Jess booked a spot already, but I’m guessing it’s peak season,” Dean says and takes another sip. He sighs and smiles as caffeine runs through his body, waking him up more. “Hey wait, are you saying yes to my offer?”

Cas turns to him again with a smile, then looks back to the eggs and grabs a plate without saying a word.

“Is that a- is that a yes?” Dean asks again.

Cas doesn’t answer with actual words until a plate of fried eggs and bacon are in front of Dean. “I’m saying yes,” he says, and quickly hushes Dean with a finger before he can speak. “I still haven’t spoken to Gabriel. I don’t know what his plans are, or if he even wants to celebrate this year.”

Dean waits for Cas to go on as he chews on his bacon.

“Regardless, I’d love to spend the holidays with you. So I’m saying yes,” Cas adds.

Dean grins as wide as he can with his mouth closed while chewing and shows his joy with a small victory pump.

“Awesome,” he finally says. “Wait, what about Audrey?”

Cas shrugs. “If boarding facilities are fully booked, I can persuade Charlie to watch her. Her and Dorothy aren’t going anywhere.”

Dean nods along, enjoying every bit of his meal. He looks across and realizes Cas doesn’t even have a plate or mug in front of him. “Hey- eat something before you go.”

“I’m good. I’ll eat when I get back,” Cas says, checking the time on his phone. “I’ll send you when you’re ready.”

Dean looks up at him suspiciously. “It’s a five minute walk.”

Cas nods. “I know.”

“Why are you being so nice today?” Dean asks.

“I don’t know what you mean. I’m your boyfriend, I’m supposed to be nice.”

“Yeah, but this is _extra_ nice. What do you want? Is this about the pole?”

The more Dean talks, the more Cas laughs. “No Dean, I don’t want anything.”

“So you’re just being nice for no reason?”

Cas sighs. “Yes. I guess I am— what the kids in my class call it…” he puts two pairs of bunny ears up, and with a straight face, completes his sentence. “Whipped.”

Dean chokes at that, covers his mouth from the food that nearly falls out, and shakes his head with amusement. “Funny. You’re a funny guy, Cas.”

“That’s what they call me too.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

 

+++

 

**24 th December, Sunday**

 

Cas folds his shirt small enough to fit the carrier and slides it in, patting it flat. Audrey usually doesn’t have trouble getting into the carrier, but Cas has learned that she much prefers being around his scent than a random towel. She sniffs the outside of the carrier and turns her head back at Cas with wide eyes.

“Go on,” Cas utters. He brushes a finger on her small head, giving her a tiny scratch and slowly leads her to sit in the carrier.

She lets out a meow that Cas can actually hear when he closes the cage door. Sniffing her surroundings, Audrey relaxes herself on Cas’ shirt.

“It’s only for a while. I promise,” Cas assures, looking into the cage.

A constant buzz in his pocket catches his attention. He grabs his phone, nearly drops Audrey’s carrier when he sees a picture of Gabriel as Doctor Bryant lying dead under a desk on his screen, and wonders when the hell that picture got changed.

“When did you change your picture in my phone? That scared the hell out of me,” Cas answers angrily.

There’s a second of a pause until Gabriel laughs loudly. _“Right! I forgot I did that. We should probably call each other more often. Anyway kiddo, I’m here! Bring the in-laws down.”_

“Dean and I aren’t—”

Cas receives a beep in his ear before he can finish. He sighs and switches off the lights before leaving his apartment with Audrey. He locks his door and heads over to the one half-open across him.

Two knocks to the door make three heads turn, four if Achilles was counted.

“Gabriel is here. We should go,” he says straight to the point, poking his head in. Achilles starts meowing in his own carrier as Jess carries him.

“Just a little longer baby,” Jess coos, popping a finger through the grill. Achilles moves his head forward for a sniff.

“Did you write another long ass list this time?” Dean asks behind her.

“Of course I did,” Jess replies, coming out of the doorway.

“List or no list, he’ll be fine. It’s only three days,” Sam remarks.

Cas nods. “Yes, Audrey and Achilles are in good hands. There’s no need to worry,” he assures with a smile.

Jess smiles back at him, then drops her eyes down to Cas’ hands. “Where are your things?”

“Oh- it’s packed together with Dean’s,” Cas says, briefly pointing at the bag Dean’s carrying.

Jess turns to Dean with an even wider smile. “That’s so cute!”

Sam shrugs. “And here I thought Jess and I were the married couple.”

“Hey Sammy? Shut your face,” Dean responds, plastering a smile on as he walks away. He avoids looking at Cas for a while, but Cas blushes and smiles along to it anyway.

Cas does however, roll his eyes completely when they meet Gabriel outside in front of a black van, where he turns around wearing sunglasses on a cold, cloudy morning.

“There are my favourite in-laws!” Gabriel greets, taking the sunglasses off.

“Dean and I are not married,” Cas states, wrapping Gabriel in a one-arm hug. He opens the front passenger door and places Audrey on the seat.

“Yet!” Sam says, clapping Dean on the shoulder as they load the boot with luggage.

“Shut up, Sammy!”

Cas laughs at his tone and goes to help them; with each person having presents for everyone, the boot fills up quite quickly, and it’s definitely lucky that they’re not travelling with Cas’ car.

 

+++

 

Twenty-five minutes later of traffic delays, Achilles meowing, and Sam’s fascination of the TV in the van, the five of them take an elevator up to the seventh floor and head to the first door on the right.

The door opens after one doorbell ring to an excited, Santa hat-wearing Charlie.

“Merry Christmas!” Charlie greets and hugs both Cas and Dean at the same time.

Cas laughs and pats her on the back with his free hand. “Merry Christmas.”

“Good to see you, Charlie,” Dean says as they both pull away. “Cas and Jess made brownies. I helped a little bit. Where can I put this?” he asks, holding up a full container.

“All you did was hand me a glass of water. To drink,” Cas remarks.

Charlie’s eyes light up at that as she points backwards. “Coffee table.”

Dean nods and makes his way in while Charlie tends to the others. He waves at Dorothy coming from the kitchen, who smiles at him in return and joins Charlie at the door. Jess already has her list out, going over its content with Sam next to her, giving them an apologetic smile.

Bright colours on the coffee table grab Dean’s attention; Charlie went all out on the Christmas theme. Snowmen macarons, Christmas tree meringues, Gingerbread men cookies, and a good old classic apple pie.

Dean grins at the glorious sight before him. “Awesome.”

“Hey Dean!”

Dean lifts his gaze up quickly to see Gabriel already next to him, smirking with his hands in his pockets.

“Uh- hey,” Dean replies. “Gabriel. Gabe- I don’t know. What’s up?” he manages to ask.

Gabriel shrugs. “Nothing. Just uh, we didn’t get to talk much earlier. So now we’re talking.”

Dean nods. “Right.” He doesn’t realize just how much he’s nodding until Gabriel lifts an eyebrow at him.

“You okay there?” Gabriel asks.

Dean shakes his head and sighs. “It’s just the last time I saw you, you were shot in the head. By a stray bullet. That scarred me.”

“Ah. You still watching the show after that?”

“Nope,” Dean says. “I mean, depends if you’re coming back…”

“Can’t tell you that, Dean-o.”

“Audrey, no!” Cas calls out. Dean looks in his direction and sees Cas attempting to bring his cat down from the curtains. “Stop it! Get down here!” he continues to scold. Dean snickers, takes his phone out, and snaps a picture.

“Thanks for letting us tag along,” Gabriel suddenly affirms.

Dean darts his focus back to him. “Oh, it’s—”

“Seriously. We don’t get great Christmases. Or even _good_ ones,” Gabriel adds, looking back at Cas. “Some years I’m not even there for him. He deserves this.”

Dean nods and smiles as he glances at Cas again. “Yeah, he does.”

“I _will_ destroy you if you hurt him in any way though,” Gabriel makes known, keeping the smile on his face. “You understand that, right?”

“Uhm- yeah. Got it,” Dean quickly answers, raising his hands low in surrender.

“Good. So I was thinking, when you two get married—”

“What—”

“You should definitely let me host the wedding. Or be one who marries you both. I’m already ordained,” Gabriel goes on.

Dean’s literally unable to speak for two seconds until he lets out a choked, “Okay.”

“Great!”

Dean looks at Cas again, who’s starting to make his way over to them with Audrey in his hands.

“By the way, you should definitely at least watch the season finale,” Gabriel whispers, taking a macaron from the coffee table. “Not that I’m implying anything.”

“Dr Bryant’s coming back?”

Gabriel only shrugs as he pops the macaron in his mouth, walking away.

“What did he tell you?” Cas asks, eyeing Gabriel suspiciously. “I can’t even tell what emotions you’re expressing right now.”

Dean laughs at that. “I can’t either. C’mon, let’s go stand under the mistletoe for an excuse to kiss.”

Cas raises an eyebrow at that, but doesn’t hide his smile.

Dean groans. “Fine, we’ll just wait for it to happen- _coincidentally_.”

He knows very well that a heavy lunch is prepared for him in Long Island later. That doesn’t stop him at all from savouring Charlie’s baking, though. Charlie even makes the effort to prepare hot chocolate for everyone, with a peppermint twist for Dean at Cas’ secret request.

“So, you guys really don’t have anything else planned for the holidays?” Sam asks, taking a gingerbread cookie off the plate. Achilles jumps onto his lap, sniffing at his hand.

“Not really. Weirdly, both our families have different plans. It got complicated, so we decided we could visit them on New Year’s or something,” Charlie explains.

“And before that, we might go on a short holiday. Probably one night,” Dorothy states.

“To where?” Jess asks.

“Don’t know yet,” Dorothy answers.

Cas lifts his eyebrows in surprise. “You’re being spontaneous for the first time?”

“I don’t know what’s gotten into her,” Charlie counters. “But I think I like it.”

“I can have fun too, Red.” Dorothy stands up from her seat, taking her mug from the coffee table. “Castiel, can I see you for a minute? It’s about work,” she says.

Cas pauses for a second but nods anyway; she is his boss after all. Dean eyes them as they go to the kitchen to talk, not listening to the conversation Jess and Charlie have started. Sam also starts asking Gabriel about a movie he’s been in, and Dean knows Gabriel has quite a lot to say about it.

Dean can see both Dorothy and Cas in the kitchen from where he’s sitting, and he gets that it’s kind of weird to spy on them while everyone else is talking, but the odd vibe from Dorothy sparks his curiosity- just a little bit.

Dorothy starts speaking, and Dean isn’t sure what it could possibly be about, judging by Cas’ face. It’s a mix of happiness, confusion and surprise. It could even be either of those alone; Cas isn’t exactly easy to read. Cas gives her a brief hug, but his expression’s still a little weird. He’s definitely hiding something and making an extra effort to look happy. The two of them talk a little longer, which involves Cas just nodding along with the same look on his face. Eventually Dorothy pats him on the arm and walks back to everyone else with a smile.

Cas takes his phone out quickly while he’s in the kitchen, types something and makes eye contact with Dean. The happiness Dean saw earlier is now replaced with worry. Cas shakes his phone for Dean to see, and Dean immediately gets a buzz in his pocket.

**_Sunshine :) <3_ **

**_> > We have a problem. Meet me at the tree. Don’t be suspicious, make it casual._ **

Dean’s first thought is that he’s going to smite Sam for messing with his phone again. His second is wondering how on Earth he was going to make his way to where Cas wanted him without looking suspicious at all. Everyone else is talking, sure, but going over to Cas at the tree right after him and Dorothy privately spoke would probably make Dorothy wary. Dean’s eyes smooth over to the door near the kitchen. _Bathroom_. He waits until Dorothy’s joined in the conversation with Jess and Charlie— who have apparently been talking about the ingredients in Charlie’s cookies— and casually puts his mug on the table before heading to the bathroom, passing by Cas at the tree on the way. He holds in his relief when nobody questions it.

He takes about a minute to pretend he’s using the bathroom and leaves. Cas still stands by the tree, pretending to admire the decorations. _Casual,_ Dean reminds himself. He pretends to head back to the couch where he was, looks at Cas, and heads to him instead.

“Hey,” Dean whispers, snaking an arm around Cas’ waist as they both face the tree.

“Hi. I like your way of being casual. Touchy in front of the relatives,” Cas remarks, pretending to gesture at a polar bear ornament.

Dean chuckles and kisses his shoulder. “Hope you don’t mind. What’s up?”

“Dorothy’s not looking, right?”

“She’s not facing us, no.”

Cas sighs. “Dorothy’s planning on proposing to Charlie tonight.”

“Oh- that’s great!” Dean says with a smile, but remembers Cas said there was a problem. “Wait, what’s so bad about that?”

“Because Charlie’s planning on proposing tomorrow,” Cas whispers, looking at Dean with wide eyes. “She’s been planning this for ages! Her proposal is literally wrapped in a Christmas present.”

“Shit. What’s Dorothy got planned?” Dean asks.

“Nothing creative. She’s just gonna ask her over dinner,” Cas mutters.

Dean smirks. “You want a creative proposal, huh?”

“Of course I do,” Cas admits. Dean feels both himself and Cas slightly tense at that, until Cas starts talking again. “I mean- for Charlie and Dorothy. This is not about me,” he adds.

“Well, I guess you could either convince Dorothy to wait until tomorrow, or convince Charlie to give Dorothy an early present,” Dean says, changing back the subject.

“How on Earth do I do that?”

“I don’t know. Look, you could text either of them later. Whatever happens, they’ll both be happy about it,” Dean describes, wrapping his other arm in front of Cas’ waist.

“What if Dorothy proposes first? What about Charlie’s plan?” Cas asks.

Dean sighs and presses a kiss to his cheek. “Then they’ll laugh about it, and have a story to tell. Nothing _bad_ would really happen either way.”

Cas nods. “I suppose you’re right. Thank you.”

“Don’t let that stop you from trying to save a _creative_ plan, though,” Dean teases.

Cas smiles at him. “I won’t. Look up.”

Dean already knows what’s up there, but he looks up anyway to see mistletoe hanging from the ceiling.

“Ah. Total coincidence.”

“Of course.”

Dean smiles into the kiss he gets from Cas, not caring at all that five other people can see them clearly.

“Love you,” Dean utters.

“What?”

“Uh—”

“Hey, lovebirds! We’re leaving,” Gabriel calls out.

Dean and Cas turn to see everyone getting up from their seats, staring at them.

“Should we give you more time?” Charlie asks.

“Nope!” Dean says, letting go of Cas. He joins the rest quickly, blocking out what just happened. Audrey stays asleep on the couch while Achilles follows Jess to the door, and Jess has to actually carry him up and hand him over to Charlie like a baby to stop him.

“Thanks again, guys!” Jess marvels. “Merry Christmas!”

A chorus of bye’s go back and forth, and Cas gives each Charlie and Dorothy a hug with a whisper to them both. Charlie even gives them a bag of mini muffins right before they go.

Dean avoids contact with Cas right up to the elevator…

Where it violently lurches to a halt between the fourth and fifth floor.

 

+++

 

Cas doesn’t manage to get in contact with Dean right up to the elevator…

Where it violently lurches to a halt between the fourth and fifth floor.

It has all of them gasp and lose balance. Cas grabs Dean next to him by the shoulder, squeezing him a little too tightly.

“Are we stuck?” Jess asks, holding onto Sam’s arm.

All of them wait in silence for the elevator to move again. It doesn’t.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Dean says.

Gabriel proceeds to press all the floor buttons one by one and holds down the “doors open” button with absolutely no luck.

“Okay. We’re stuck!” he announces.

Cas grunts, looking up. “I have only used this elevator four times in my life. And it chooses to betray me _now_?”

“What do we do?” Dean asks.

“We just have to use the help button. Cas, you’re the adult here. You make the call,” Gabriel proposes.

“You’re nearly forty,” Cas reminds him. “And everyone is an adult here.”

“You lived in this building, you know the address,” Gabriel argues.

“I don’t have a good left ear. What if I don’t hear the person right?” Cas counters back.

“Yeah, I’ll just—” Jess goes between them and presses the button herself.

There’s nothing but static for five seconds until a voice comes out of the speakers.

_“Hi, how may I help you?”_

“Hi,” Jess greets with her sweet voice. “We are five people stuck in an elevator?”

The call goes on for a couple of minutes, full of questions and steps to take and reminders to stay calm; the situation’s already quite familiar to Cas.

_“Help is on the way. Stay put.”_

“Okay. Thank you,” Jess ends the call with. She slides down to the floor with everyone else and leans her head back.

“Hey Cas, you getting a bit of déjà vu?” Gabriel asks, smirk playing on his mouth.

Cas sighs. “Yes.”

“You guys been stuck together before?” Sam asks.

“Yep, back in the LA apartment. We nearly killed each other. With- _three_ other people in there,” Gabriel answers, raising his eyebrows suspiciously.

“Shut up, we did not,” Cas interjects. “And it was only one other person.”

“It’s already starting,” Gabriel teases.

“And… how long did you guys get stuck there, exactly?” Dean asks.

“About an hour,” Cas says.

Dean visibly holds back a long sigh. “That’s… perfect.”

“Maybe it’s not so bad,” Sam counsels. “It’s just one hour. We could play a few ice breakers, and before you know it, those doors will open.”

“Yeah, we can’t let this stupid elevator ruin Christmas. C’mon, nothing beats a classic _Never Have I Ever_ ,” Jess adds.

“What are we, college kids?” Dean groaned.

“I know you hate this game because you’re always the first to lose, but you got a better idea?” Jess asks.

Dean rolls his eyes and sighs, holding up ten fingers. “You start.”

“Alright! Let’s go this way,” Jess says, circling her finger counter-clockwise. She holds up ten fingers and thinks. “Never have I ever… smoked weed.”

Dean and Gabriel lose a finger straight away. Cas slowly puts his pinky down, earning a snort from Gabriel.

“Really? I can’t imagine that,” Dean muses. “I bet you’re really funny when you’re high.”

“I’m already funny,” Cas says seriously, getting a few chuckles. “But no, I puked both times.”

Dean nods. “Sexy.”

“Okay- my turn,” Sam interrupts. “Never have I ever kissed on the first date.”

Cas smiles at that and puts his ring finger down. Dean winks at him and puts his finger down as well. Jess still has all fingers up, and Gabriel doesn’t lose one this time.

“That’s a lie,” Cas points out at Gabriel.

“One-night stands don’t count,” Gabriel replies.

“I’m probably gonna win this game,” Jess remarks.

Dean smirks. “Never have I ever gotten married,” he proposes, taking his turn.

Sam and Jess sigh as they both put a finger down… and so does Gabriel.

“What?” Dean questions. “You got married?”

“Ten years ago. In Vegas,” Gabriel explains. “To a very cute coworker. We weren’t romantic at all though, just very drunk. I think I called Cas that night.”

Cas grunts. “Imagine going to bed early for a final the next morning and getting woken up at 3am by a drunk dial from your brother saying he just got married. I couldn’t even go back to sleep.”

Gabriel laughs. “I’m the best.”

“Wait, so are you still… married?” Jess asks.

“Nah, it didn’t work out. Got that annulled two weeks later,” Gabriel answers. “Cas, you go. Don’t be boring.”

Cas shoots a glare at him and thinks. “Never have I ever…” he swallows hesitantly. “Never have I ever said ‘I love you’ to someone.” He hears himself say it and regrets it immediately when everyone goes quiet.

He avoids looking at anyone in the eye, but sees everyone around him put a finger down, including Dean.

“Shit,” he utters just underneath his breath.

“Never?” Dean asks.

“No,” Cas says, choosing to finally look at him. “Which is why- it may be difficult saying it for the first time…” he trails off, looking back to the elevator floor. “Whenever that may be.”

“Alright, time to save you,” Gabriel mumbles softly and clears his throat. “Never have I ever been in love!” he claims.

Despite avoiding everyone’s gaze at the moment, Cas can feel several eyes on him. He doesn’t know whether to smack or thank Gabriel later.

He puts a finger down just before Dean does.

“Never have I ever been in a threesome,” Jess goes again, changing the subject.

Nobody puts a finger down, but everyone looks at Dean when he doesn’t.

“Why is everybody looking at me? That’s just biphobic,” Dean retorts. Sam raises his eyebrows at him. “Fine, _once_. But two girls,” Dean admits and drops his finger.

The game goes on for another two circles until Dean loses first, followed by Gabriel shortly. Cas loses next, content with his position as the one who isn’t too nice or too naughty.

“Ah, and it all boils down to America’s dream couple,” Dean remarks. “The nicest, straightest, most boring people I’ve ever known.”

“Shut up, Dean!” both Sam and Jess exclaim.

“Never have I ever cheated on an exam,” Jess says. Sam doesn’t drop a finger.

“Never have I ever been fired,” Sam counters. Jess rolls her eyes and puts down her second last finger.

Cas laughs at how serious the two of them are in such a silly game. “This is mildly entertaining,” he mutters, leaning closer to Dean.

“I know,” Dean replies. “They’re so innocent.”

“Never have I ever passed out,” Jess brings. Sam puts his second last finger down.

“Never have I ever… kissed a cat,” Sam finalizes with. Jess sighs, losing all her fingers.

“Congratulations Sam, you are officially the most boring person,” Dean jokes. “How long have we been here?” he asks desperately.

Sam sighs and checks his watch. “Fifteen minutes.”

Dean lets out a groan and knocks the back of his head against the elevator. “Does anyone else have ideas? That _don’t_ make me want this elevator to free fall?”

“Don’t jinx it, man,” Sam says.

“That’s not gonna happen,” Dean assures.

“Wait,” Jess whispers, widening her eyes. “Wait, wait, wait!” she continues, looking into her purse.

Everyone else exchanges strange looks until Jess takes out what probably saves their afternoon: an iPad.

“I downloaded some movies off Netflix. We can just sit back, relax, and have some mini muffins!” Jess rejoices. “Ninety-three percent battery. We can do this.”

Dean sighs of relief, stretching his arms over his head. “Jessica Moore, you just saved Christmas!”

“What movies do you have?” Sam asks.

“Let’s see…” Jess scrolls and smiles at the screen. “Christmas movies. _Home Alone. Love Actually. Die Hard…_ and Episode 8 of Orange Is The New Black Season 2. What will it be?”

“I’ve never seen any of that,” Cas announces.

“ _What_?” Dean, Sam and Jess question in surprise.

“Except for that episode of Orange is the New Black, of course,” Cas adds.

“Cas was strictly deprived of movies as a kid. I tried to get him to watch as much as possible when he moved in with me, but I guess I missed out on some,” Gabriel explains.

“Alright. We’re putting on Home Alone. It’s a classic,” Dean says. “Then when we get to Long Island, we’re watching the other two. And probably more, just for you.”

 Cas smiles. “Okay.”

“Home Alone it is!” Jess chimes. She places her purse at the opposite end of the elevator and attempts balancing her iPad on it.

Everyone huddles together on the other end as if it’s not a cozy space for five people already. Jess has the iPad at a maximum volume, and it’s definitely loud enough with how small the space is.

The opening credits begin with a Christmas-y jingle that makes Cas’ heart feel a tad lighter. The festive spirit shining out of Dean for the past month has really gotten into him.

 

+++

 

“What’s this movie about?” Cas whispers to him.

“Watch and find out,” Dean answers.

Dean wishes he could pay attention to the movie, because thank _God_ , if He really is out there, for letting Jess bring a charged iPad with her. But when Cas is constantly making adorable comments under his breath, it can be hard to ignore.

“Oh my God, what a horrible, _horrible_ family.”

“How has nobody noticed?”

“Kevin. You forgot Kevin. How hard can it be?”

“Oh no- they’re burglars.”

“He’s a very funny child.”

Nobody tells him to shut up, not even Gabriel. Cas can comment however much he likes.

Gabriel adds in at one point. “You know, I’ve met this guy once. He’s my age now.”

Cas of course, shushes him and continues to engage in the movie.

It’s more than an hour in until Cas makes a last remark at the scene where Kevin starts setting up booby traps around the house.

“I wish I was this smart as a child. I could have showed those bullies—”

The elevator lurches up and down to a halt as it did the first time, interrupting Cas and waking Jess up with a gasp from Sam’s shoulder.

“Are we moving?” Jess asks. Silence follows until the elevator lurches again, only going downwards this time.

“We’re moving!” Gabriel celebrates.

Everyone basically applauds and cheers, getting up from the floor as the elevator continues moving down. Cas is the one who picks the iPad up and pauses the movie.

“Jess, if you don’t mind, I’m continuing the rest of this movie in the car,” he makes known.

“Of course!” she replies, too happy to even think.

The elevator comes to a stop again, with the indicator displaying a number four on the screen. Dean never knew he’d be so happy to hear an elevator ding in his life. The doors open, and a few guys in technician suits appear in front of them.

“Hey. You people okay in there?”

Dean’s the first to leave and hug every one of them there. “Thank you! Merry Christmas!” he wishes.

The five of them collectively sigh once they make it to the van.

“Everyone comfortable back there?” Gabriel asks to the three backseat passengers.

“The most I’ve ever been,” Dean answers.

“Cas?” Gabriel asks next.

“I’m very happy,” Cas states, holding up the iPad. “I can’t wait to watch the rest of this movie.”

Jess nudges Dean’s foot with hers, getting his attention. He looks up quick enough to catch the tangled earphones Jess throws at him. He raises his eyebrows in question, and all Jess does is gesture her head sideways to Cas. She’s definitely right on this one. The rest of them just need some sleep, and the last remaining parts of _Home Alone_ isn’t something Dean would like to tolerate in his sleep right now.

“Hey babe? Here you go, put these on,” Dean says innocently, leaning forward to the front passenger seat as he hands Cas the set of earphones.

Cas smiles up at him. “Thank you.”

Dean kisses the top of his head and relaxes back in his own seat with closed eyes. He still hears Cas as he naps, snickering for the rest of the movie and talking to himself. He even wakes up half an hour later when Cas stops, and leans over to see Cas watch the very last scene with a smile on his face.

“That was lovely,” Cas says, taking off the earphones. “Very lovely. Is there a sequel?”

“Oh yeah. Just one,” Gabriel answers him. “Definitely no third, fourth… and fifth movie.”

The drive is mostly quiet but comfortable. Everyone’s tired from being cooped up in a space together and just wants to eat some real food. Dean starts seeing familiar places as they make it into Glen Cove, and the spirit of Christmas ignites in him again.

“We’re almost there,” Dean says.

Cas turns back all of a sudden, staring widely at Dean. “What should be the first thing I say to your mother?”

Dean shrugs. “I don’t know, maybe a hello? Hi? Nice to meet you?”

“Right. All three then,” Cas says.

“I’ll introduce you, you’ll say hi, she’ll probably go in for a hug. Simple,” Dean explains.

“Mary’s the sweetest person, Cas. She’ll love you,” Jess assures.

“I hope so.”

They meet Mary by the door ten minutes later, with Sam and Jess in the front to greet her first.

“Ugh, I was so worried you’d never leave that elevator!” Mary exclaims, hugging Sam.

“So were we,” Sam says hugging her back.

Mary pulls away and moves to hug Jess. “Hi, honey!”

Dean holds Cas’ hand right until Mary goes to hug him. “Hey Mom!”

“Dean,” Mary acknowledges with a tight hug. Her hugs are always the best.

“So uh, this is Cas,” Dean introduces as he pulls away from her and gestures to Cas. Mary smiles fondly at him and grabs both his hands.

“It’s so nice to finally meet you,” she says and pulls him into a hug. “I’ve been waiting to put a face to this special person Dean talks about every day.”

“Wha- not _every_ day!” Dean objects, feeling his face go red.

“It’s nice to meet you too, Mrs. Winchester,” Cas responds.

“ _Mary_. You’ve earned that privilege,” Mary corrects. She sees who is behind him and opens her arms again. “And you must be Gabriel.”

Gabriel looks pleasantly surprised to get a hug as well. “That’s me.”

“Dean’s talked quite a lot about you as well—”

Dean clears his throat immediately. “Okay, let’s all head inside and eat!”

Several barks and yaps go through the house as they enter, and Dean sees the most wondrous smile spread on Cas’ face when he examines the whole living room.

“Oh my God,” Cas utters in awe.

“Don’t worry. All seven of them are trained and okay with strangers,” Mary says with a smile, assuring Cas and Gabriel with a squeeze of their shoulders just before leaving to the kitchen.

“Told you my mom’s a dog lady,” Dean remarks. He points to the Bloodhound jumping and pawing excitedly at Sam, nearly reaching his shoulders. “That’s Princess. She’s been around a while.” He then points at the Boxer following Mary to the kitchen. “Over there is Teddy. He’s a real good cuddler.” Jess crouches down to greet another smaller dog and giggles as he paws down on her knees and starts sniffing her face. “That’s Oscar. He’s part-wiener dog and part-some other hound,” Dean goes on.

“Oh my God,” Cas says again, jumping slightly. Dean looks to see he’s noticed the sleeping giant camouflaging into the sofa.

“Sadie. Unless you want to be crushed, you shouldn’t sit there,” Dean explains, gesturing at the black Great Dane not making room for anyone else on the black loveseat.

One dog jogs his way to Gabriel and stops, looking up at him with an open smiling mouth. Another appears next to Dean out of nowhere.

“Oh- these Lab brothers came in a few months ago. Man, they get big _really_ quick,” Dean points out, petting one of them on the head. “This one’s Oliver, and that’s Milo. I think.”

Cas smiles and starts petting Milo himself. “And where’s the seventh one?”

“Hm. I don’t know,” Dean says, looking around. “Where’s Albert?”

“In the kitchen!” Mary replies. As soon as she does, a tiny shuffle of footsteps sweep across the floor, running towards them.

“There he is!” Dean cheers at the newly groomed Shih Tzu. “Come here. Nice haircut, buddy.”

Cas drops his jaw at the sight of Albert, exchanging looks between him and Sadie on the couch. He slowly turns up the corner of his mouth and picks up tiny Albert, who does not mind at all, to eye level.

“I cannot believe this,” Cas remarks, looking at Albert straight in the eye. “I _cannot_ believe this.” Dean snickers and takes a few pictures of them. Cutie holding a cutie. That would make a good caption.

Gabriel just stands there speechless, for once, scanning his eyes over the entire living room.

“Cas?” Gabriel calls softly, crossing his arms. He sighs. “Marry this family, or I will.”

Cas ignores him, too focused on the ball of cute, but Dean feels his ears go hot when Gabriel throws a wink at him.

 

+++

 

They’re all two hours late, craving food that isn’t mini muffins, and chomping down on the delicious chicken noodle casserole Mary prepared for everyone. Cas and Gabriel try to be polite with their eating, at least. Mary asks the regular get-to-know-you questions that Cas has been ready for and answers calmly, earning a soft nudge from Dean’s foot and a smile from him. They’ve practiced quite a few times. She talks to Gabriel as well, and he gets along with her just as well, with no practice at all. Cas was afraid at first, of how Gabriel would act with Dean’s family; it’s not like they know each other very well. This is only the second time he’s met Sam and Jess, and a third for Dean. Cas appreciates him a lot today though, and he can see that Gabriel holds a rare level of gratitude to this family. Cas certainly didn’t expect Gabriel to go out of his way to rent a comfortable van for all of them, either.

“So Sam, Jess. Any chance I’m getting a grandchild soon?” Mary asks.

Sam laughs. “I don’t know, Mom. Why don’t you ask Dean? He’s the married one.”

Dean glares at him and forks through his casserole hard. “Shut your fucking trap, Sam,” he mumbles. Cas sips on his drink to hide his smile.

“Not for another few years,” Jess answers.

Mary sighs. “Fine. But I hope you two don’t mind that I got you a joint present this year,” she says with a coy smile and gets up to leave the room.

“Are we opening presents now?” Dean asks, a light shining in his eyes.

“Only from me to them. This one can’t wait until tomorrow,” Mary explains.

Sam and Jess exchange curious looks as they wait for her to come back.

When she does, Jess gasps and stands up immediately to go over to her. “Mary, you didn’t!” she exclaims.

“I did,” Mary replies, cheekily smiling. She holds up a tiny dog wearing a red bow around its neck. Cas isn’t even that surprised anymore.

“Mom, you really got us a puppy?” Sam asks, smiling from ear to ear as he slowly takes hold of it.

“Some anonymous asshole abandoned a whole litter of these babies. Poppy over here was the last of her siblings left at the shelter,” Mary explains. Jess smiles as she strokes the puppy’s speckled black-gold coat. “Dean told me you two were having trouble finding one that would suit the apartment and get along with Achilles, so I thought _this_ Havanese pup would do just right for you,” Mary adds.

“She’s perfect,” Jess murmurs, rubbing Poppy’s little ears.

Cas turns to Dean while the three of them continue dote over the adorable puppy. “How on Earth does your mother manage so many dogs at once? And have a busy career? _And_ cook so well?”

Dean shrugs, smiling as Poppy stuck out her tongue at Sam. “She raised Sam and I together, she can do anything.”

Everyone retreats back to the living room over time after lunch; Sam and Jess start playing with Poppy, Dean takes pictures of them with Poppy, and Gabriel somehow found himself hanging out with Sadie on the sofa. Cas has no idea when _that_ happened.

“Coffee, tea, anyone?” Mary asks the room.

“Yes!” several voices reply.

Seeing his own hands empty, Cas takes this opportunity.

“I’ll help you with that,” Cas offers.

Mary opens her mouth to object, but doesn’t. She smiles at him and gestures her thumb to the kitchen for him to follow.

“So I hope you don’t mind the dogs,” Mary starts with in the kitchen. “Dean told me you’re a cat person, and that’s how you two kind of met.”

Cas beams down at the floor. “I suppose that’s true. But dogs are amazing too, of course,” he states. Mary smiles, handing him a tray of six mugs. Cas prays that he doesn’t somehow drop it, or that a dog, whether big or small, doesn’t run into him from the back. “Thank you so much, for having us here,” he says. “I was afraid- Gabriel and I were imposing on a family celebration.”

“I can promise you that nobody is imposing,” Mary assures. She grabs another tray of two kettles and sighs with a warm smile on her face, shaking her head slightly. “I have to admit though, I was quite surprised.”

Cas blinks. “Surprised?”

“My boy is twenty-nine years old. And he’s dated quite the number of people, according to Sam,” Mary remarks. “But not _once,_ has he invited them to meet me.”

Cas widens his eyes in shock. “Really?”

“I mean he’s talked about them. Rarely, and it usually stops there. You must be really special,” Mary says.

Cas nods and smiles. “That’s… very nice to know, thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” she replies kindly and leads the way out of the kitchen.

It’s quite hectic in the living room with eight dogs and several people happily playing with said dogs, but it’s a nice kind of hectic. Cas sits on an armchair with Oscar sharing his seat and sniffing his hair. Gabriel has somehow started a story of the time he woke up in a stranger’s backyard. Dean comes out of the bathroom, furrowing his eyebrows at the mention of the words “hornets” and “drunk” in Gabriel’s anecdote. He grabs his cup of coffee from the table and sits next to Cas on the arm of the sofa.

“Dean?” Cas calls softly, looking up at him. “Can we talk in private later?”

Dean pauses from a sip of coffee and nods. “Yeah. Sure.”

“Hey— did we bring our things in?” Jess asks.

“No. We were all too tired to,” Sam answers.

Dean gets up from the armchair. “Uh, Cas and I can go get them,” he suggests, putting his coffee back down. “Right, Cas?”

“Oh— yes,” Cas says, standing up as well.

Gabriel switches glances between the two. “You sure? Quite a lot of bags we brought in. And it’s freezing out there.”

“Yeah. We’re sure,” Dean says.

He heads to the front door abruptly, not letting the conversation go on. Cas follows a tad bit slower than he’s supposed to, grabbing both their coats.

Dean gets to the boot of the van and lifts it up to see the load. “Man, he was right,” he utters and takes two bags out.

“This isn’t my ideal way of talking in private. I don’t know why you suggested this,” Cas states. He carries another bag out of the van.

“Because the longer we wait on talking in private, the longer I think about the worst case scenario. You breaking up with me, on Christmas Eve, and ruining Christmas for the rest of my life,” Dean explains.

Cas shakes his head. “I’m not breaking up with you. What I’m about to say is nothing bad,” he makes known.

Dean nods. “Okay. Shoot.” He proceeds to take out the last luggage bag.

Cas sighs. He grabs the remaining three full bags of presents and shuts the boot. “It’s been a crazy day,” he says.

“Is that what you wanted to say?” Dean asks right away.

Cas lifts his eyebrows at him.

“Right. Keep talking,” Dean adds, snapping his fingers into a gun.

Cas smiles and breathes in cold air. “I love you,” he confesses. A huge weight lifts off his shoulders.

“What?”

“I said I love you,” Cas repeats himself.

“I heard you,” Dean says, blinking too many times. “I mean, you— cool. That’s cool, because— I love you right back.”

Cas nods, swallowing nervously. “Cool.”

Dean snickers and moves towards him, grabbing both hands. “We’re so stupid,” he murmurs. He presses a long kiss to Cas’ mouth and rests his forehead on Cas’. He pulls back slightly, spark of curiosity clear on his face. “Wait, did you just realize this? Just after the dogs, the house, and everyone pushing the idea of marriage at us?”

“No,” Cas answers. “I’ve known for quite a while now.”

Dean hums. “That so? When?”

Cas blushes as he looks away and sighs, hesitating to answer. “That day you— the day we put up the tree at your place.”

Dean beams and snaps. “Aha! You _do_ have a pole kink.”

“No, I don’t! Dean, there is no time for this. I’m freezing,” Cas hisses, grabbing as many bags as he can.

“Heh. Pole kink.”

“I don’t think that’s even a thing.”

 

+++

 

**25 th December, Monday**

Dean jolts awake when he realizes what day it is.

“Christmas!” he whispers to himself excitedly and pats the space next to him. “Cas—”

He pauses when he realizes he’s patting an oddly shaped, smaller figure underneath the covers. He lifts the blanket to see the guilty face of Teddy, looking at Dean as if he didn’t mean any harm. Teddy always looks like that if he isn’t smiling, though.

“What the hell? What did you do with my boyfriend?” Dean asks.

Teddy lays on his side, posing, and paws at Dean’s arm.

Dean smiles and rubs him on the head. “Yeah, yeah, you’re cute.” He stretches his back and sees his bedroom door partially open. “C’mon buddy, it’s time for Christmas.”  

He makes it downstairs and inhales the sweet smell of pancakes. “Merry Christmas!” he calls out sleepily to whoever’s awake.

“Merry Christmas!” a few voices greet back, that _few_ being literally everybody else in the house.

Dean furrows his eyebrows at the crowd. “Why is everyone awake for breakfast but me?”

“I tried waking you up, but then you told me to fuck off,” Cas points out, scooping up a big spoon of whipped cream and plopping it onto his stack of pancakes.

“I did?” Dean asks. “Well, you probably deserved it,” he jokes with a yawn.

“Be nicer to him, Dean,” Sam lightly scolds, turning around from the stove, wearing an apron that says ‘CUTE’ in the middle with sunflowers surrounding the word. He holds a pan and spatula, placing a pancake onto the stack in the middle for anyone to take.

“And Sam’s cooking now? What is happening in this house?” Dean remarks as he takes a seat next to Cas.

“At least his pancakes don’t burn,” Cas comments.

“That was one time,” Dean retorts as he slaps two pancakes onto his plate. “Can we open presents after this?”

Mary shakes her head and points her fork at Dean. “Dog walk first. I want at least a couple of you to help me out later,” she instructs.

Jess turns from her pancakes to Sam. “Sam and I can do it. We want to walk Poppy for the first time.”

Gabriel lifts his eyes from his mug. “Mind if I join you guys? I don’t want to be left alone with these two,” he says, gesturing his head at Dean and Cas.

“Good thinking,” Jess responds.

Dean doesn’t protest against that.

Soon enough four people are headed out the door in charge of two dogs each. To think Mary manages to do this every day all by herself is absurd. Dean watches out the window as the four of them walk away far enough until they look like peas. He smiles and joins Cas at the loveseat Sadie’s usually found sitting on.

He leans his head against Cas’ arm and sighs. “Don’t you think it’s crazy that we’ve only known each other for what, three-four months?”

“A little bit crazy, yes,” Cas agrees. “But I’ve been very happy these three-four months.”

“Yeah? Even when I told you to fuck off this morning?” Dean asks.

“Especially that time,” Cas says.

Dean smiles. “I love you so much.”

“I love you too.” Cas leans in and gives him a sweet kiss on the mouth. “And I’m very curious about what you got me.”

Dean shrugs. “It’s nothing big. The more I think about what I got you, the more stupid it seems,” he admits.

“It’s the thought that counts, and I’ll appreciate whatever it is. What did you get for everyone else?” Cas asks. 

“I got Sam new trainers. Seemed fair to get him a nice thing when he got me expensive shoes from Paris,” Dean says. “I got Jess one of those bath bomb sets, and for Mom I put together a little care package of nice things,” he goes on. “And uh, I got Gabriel a travel mug that has the words ‘Dr Bryant’ on it. I ordered that way before he died on TV.”

Cas chuckles. “He would love that, regardless.”

“What about you? You didn’t go overboard to impress them, right?”

Cas pauses. “I almost did, but I didn’t want to be broke. I got your mother _dog coasters_ ,” he says, shaking his head.

Dean grins. “She loves both dogs _and_ coasters, it’s perfect!”

“I hope so. I got Sam an adjustable reading stand, Jess- some animal cookie cutter set, and Gabriel… a sandwich maker. Because he never makes grilled cheese the right way,” Cas continues.

“Wow. You actually know my family pretty well.” Dean’s pretty sure Jess told him she got an animal cookie cutter set for Cas, too.

“At least I’m a hundred percent sure Charlie and Dorothy would like their presents,” Cas says. His face changes as soon as he says it. “Oh my God. Charlie. Dorothy. I _completely_ forgot. Where is my phone?” he asks, patting his own pockets.

“It’s- in my room, I think,” Dean tells him.

Cas gets up and dashes upstairs. Dean’s not sure if he should follow him, but he stands up from the couch as well and waits. Cas comes rushing down the stairs with his phone in hand.

“I had it turned off this whole time because I didn’t want to be checking my phone every five minutes instead of getting to know your family,” Cas admits, panting and waiting for his phone to turn on.

“That’s cute.”

“I know, but now I might just be the worst friend ever,” Cas says. His phone vibrates several times, notifications popping left and right. “So many group chats from work. All Merry Christmas wishes.”

“Anything from Dorothy?” Dean asks.

Cas scrolls and widens his eyes. “Three messages…” he sighs of relief. “Change of plans, she’s doing it today.”

“What about Charlie?”

Cas continues to click and scroll his screen. “Many, many pictures of Audrey and Achilles. And… a recent message saying they’re about to open presents. Oh my God.”

Dean grins. “It’s happening! Now we just gotta wait.”

“Yeah. I’m glad the cats are there to see it.”

Cas uses his phone for the next ten minutes, checking for messages from Charlie and replying to the supposedly many group chats he has. He even tells Dean he got a Merry Christmas wish from Benny. Dean has no idea when those two exchanged numbers, but he accepts that fact quickly without question and continues watching the Christmas special on TV while using Cas’ lap as a pillow.

Cas’ phone vibrates another time. “Charlie.”

Dean sits up and leans in to see what’s on his phone. On the screen is a picture of two different hands, both wearing rings on their fourth finger.

“They both proposed!” Cas softly beams, staring down at the picture.

“That’s amazing,” Dean utters, resting his chin on Cas’ shoulder. “Hey, you can see Achilles in the background.”

“Yeah, and oh- more pictures.” Cas scrolls down to reveal more pictures of the proposal. He receives pictures of the two of them posing with their rings, Audrey looking up at the rings, and a picture of the pop-up book she made for Dorothy, turned to the last page with the words ‘Marry me?’ popped out.

“That’s really creative,” Dean says. “You want something like that?”

Cas smiles. “Are you saying you want to propose to me?”

“Shut up, don’t send me into a crisis,” Dean jokes. “I’m just thinking- hypothetically.”

Cas sighs. “To be honest, I’m not sure if I want to receive a creative proposal like this or _be_ the one creating.”

“Really? Hm, we’ll see what happens.”

“Three… four years’ time?” Cas asks.

Dean blushes and grins, feeling his heart race all of a sudden. “Don’t put a freakin’ deadline on it, man!”

The front door opens to four people and eight panting dogs coming in.

“Hey guys! We definitely weren’t talking about you the whole time,” Gabriel says, bringing in a very happy looking Oliver and Milo.

“We weren’t talking about you either. Charlie and Dorothy just got engaged,” Cas announces.

Voices of joy and cheer respond to that, and Jess immediately asks for photos. Cas gets a crowd around him soon enough, looking at the photos Charlie sent him. Most of the dogs gather around them as well, and Charlie eventually sends a video of the whole thing happening.

“Are Charlie and Dorothy the ones watching the cats?” Mary whispers to Dean.

“Yeah, they’re close friends of Cas. And us too I guess,” Dean answers.

Mary nods in understanding and walks past the crowd to the Christmas tree. She takes out a tiny gift box from her pocket and places it underneath the tree with all the other presents.

“Who’s that for?” Dean asks.

Mary shrugs. “I don’t know, we’ll have to wait and see.”

Dean knows her well enough that _that_ means it’s for him.

“Present time!” Dean declares, making his way to the tree like a child.

“Hey, we’re still doing it one by one, young man!” Mary says, stopping him from diving into his presents right away.

Dean rolls his eyes with a sigh. “Fine.”

Everyone collects their presents from the tree and sits in a circle around the living room. It’s probably going to take ages with one out of six people opening one present at a time, but that’s what Dean secretly loves about Christmas.

It was decided that Cas and Gabriel should be the first two, since they’re still kind of the guests at the house. “Alright, I’ll open this one…” Cas picks up an almost flat, square shaped present and reads the tag with a smile. “From Mary.”

“Ha. Suck up,” Dean teases, poking his arm. Cas and Mary shush him at the same time. Sam shakes his head at him disappointingly.

Cas carefully removes the tape and opens it _so_ slowly Dean nearly lets out a heavy sigh. He’ll be an asshole some other time. Cas finally reveals what seems to be a solid black DVD case. He pops open the case to a blank DVD with Mary’s writing in sharpie.

_You’re welcome._

_From Mary, to Castiel_

Cas looks up curiously at her. “What is this?”

Mary bites the bottom of her lip cheekily. “I had no idea what to get you. Until I remembered that you are dating _the_ Dean Winchester.”

Dean raises his eyebrows. “What? What the hell’s that supposed to mean? ”

“I am very intrigued right now,” Cas remarks with a grin, switching glances between Dean and the DVD.

Mary beams. “It’s a copy of Dean’s first ballet show in dance school. He was the lead.”

“What? _Mom_!” Dean whines, but laughs a little bit. He lets out a groan, putting his hands behind his neck.

Cas looks more than happy to receive it. “Oh my God, this is the best thing anyone’s given me.”

“I wasn’t even that good in that one!” Dean continues to complain.

“Don’t listen to him. He was fantastic,” Mary assures.

“I’m sure he was. I will watch this as soon as possible,” Cas says with a smile, shaking the DVD case at Dean teasingly. “Thank you, Mary.”

“You’re welcome,” Mary replies. Dean lets out another sigh and wipes the embarrassment off his face.

It moves down to Gabriel, who gets two large boxes of candies and chocolates from Sam and Jess. Gabriel’s a good actor, but Dean’s pretty sure his happiness is genuine here; the guy does love his sweets. Sam opens his present from Jess, who gets him a photobook of their honeymoon in Paris. Dean smiles at the love shown clear in their faces. Jess chooses to open Sam’s gift to her, and she shakes her head in awe at how much he’s pampered her this time. He bought her a whole beauty brush set along with its own adorable pouch, and Dean’s had his fair share of checking out makeup to know how pricey those things are.

It gets to Mary’s turn, and she decides to open Gabriel’s present. It’s completely flat, just as his presents to everyone else.

“Oh my God. A spa getaway for three?” Mary questions with wide eyes and a happy mouth as she looks at the experience voucher.

Gabriel shrugs. “You work hard, you deserve a break.”

“I desperately do. Thank you,” Mary says, staring at the voucher.

“Wait, did you get us all a spa?” Cas asks, picking up his voucher-looking present.

Gabriel shushes him. “It’s Dean’s turn.”

Dean sighs. “Finally.” He looks at his batch of presents, wants badly to see what Mary got him in that tiny box, but realizes nobody’s opened a present from Cas yet. “Okay- here’s from Cas,” he says, picking up what feels like a book. He reads the note attached to it first, but not aloud.

_Dear Dean,_

_Every moment spent with you has been amazing. You’ve taught me how to love the festive season, and how to love someone in a way I never have before._

_Merry Christmas. :D_

_Cas_

Cas sits there waiting for him to open it with his palm on his face. Dean smiles at him, sighing happily. How the hell did he ever get so lucky?

He carefully opens the present, which is horribly wrapped by Cas, but Dean doesn’t say anything about it. It _is_ a book, but not one for reading. He grins at it, remembering the memory of him and Cas on their laundry date.

A post-it sticks to the front of the crossword puzzle book, saying ‘TURN TO THE LAST PAGE’. Dean flips excitedly to the last and sees an extra stapled page after the last one.

“Holy shit. You _made_ me a crossword?” Dean asks enthusiastically.

Cas smiles and nods. “I made it very difficult, I think.”

“Amazing,” Dean utters, looking at the title. _The Crossword of D &C. _All the clues are full of questions about their relationship; some are quite ridiculous, and it’s like Cas is sort of quizzing him at how well he knows him, but Dean loves it regardless. He holds it up to show everyone the completely handwritten and personalized crossword. “You’re the best,” he says to Cas.

“And I’m going to open _your_ present now,” Cas acknowledges.

Dean takes a deep breath. He spent quite a lot on Cas’ present, but he still doubts it as a good present. He has no idea if Cas likes jigsaws. Cas starts reading the card on it out loud before Dean can stop him.

“Cas, your face is very cute. And so is your—” Cas stops, thank God. “Oh. I should definitely stop reading this.” He shakes his head at Dean, putting the card down. Everyone else looks at Dean weirdly, and all Dean can do is guiltily shrug.

Cas unwraps it, examines it with a tilted head with a pensive expression, and Dean’s about to run off forever until he sees a wide smile spread on Cas’ face.

“It’s my bookcase,” Cas points out and shows everyone the 500 piece jigsaw puzzle Dean got him. It’s a personalized jigsaw of a photo Dean took quite a while back. It shows the whole bookcase they decorated together, with Audrey sleeping on the floor peacefully. “It was… the second day we met, and Dean helped me put it together.”

“Oh God,” Gabriel lets out with disdain, scrunching up his face. “You both got each other personalized puzzles. _Marry_ each other already.”

Cas beams. “I hope.”

Dean blushes and groans when everyone woos at that.

“Moving on!”

The opening of presents goes on for a while. Gabriel got Dean and Cas one night at a fancy hotel with dinner, while Sam and Jess got a paddle boarding adventure for two. Sam got Cas a nerdy beaker mug for coffee, with the caffeine molecule printed on it, and as Dean guessed, Jess and Cas got the exact same animal cookie cutter set for each other. They both laugh and appreciate it, though. Gabriel gets comfortable lounge slippers from Mary and seems to love the travel mug Dean got him.

Dean decides he should open Mary’s present last, just because he has a good feeling about it from the way she looks at him. Sam gives him beer shampoo, and Dean has never heard of such a thing before, but he loves the way it comes in a beer bottle. He also gets a black top from Jess with the words ‘BALLET’ on it in a simple white font. He’s never been so grateful for a tank top before.

“Alright, Dean has the last one. From me,” Mary says, warmly smiling at him.

Dean swallows nervously, holding the small rectangular box in his hand. “Is it a watch? A ring? Cufflinks?” he guesses.

“Open it and see,” Mary insists.

It isn’t wrapped. All he has to do is lift the top.

When he finally does, the tension doesn’t break when there’s still paper wrapped around the item, hiding what it is. He sighs and lifts up the paper, quickly unrolling it to find a single key in his hand.

It’s a way too familiar key that Dean doesn’t believe it for a while.

Dean glances up at Mary, who’s smiling her face away.

“No. No way,” Dean utters, staring at the car key. He laughs a bit and feels his face go crazy. “No way! Mom!” he exclaims in excitement and gets up to give her a bone crushing hug, hearing her laugh softly as she hugs back. “I love you!”

“I love you too. You better take care of her,” Mary replies.

Dean pulls away. “I’m not going to just take care of her. I’m going to worship her. More than I worship God Himself, I swear to- God Himself,” he blurts out nonsensically and points up. He looks at the key in his hand, grins, and makes another noise of joy. “I can’t believe this! Mom!” he goes on and hugs her again, swaying her.

He looks around to see Sam smiling with his phone up, waving at him. “You’re recording me? I’m so happy, I don’t even care! I got the Impala!” Dean cheers.

The dogs start barking excitedly when they see Dean so happy. Princess jumps up at him and nearly brings him down, but Dean rubs her face and laughs when he gets slobber all over his arm. Dean’s surrounded with dogs at this point, and he’s pretty sure he’s never felt better. He manages to get Cas in sight and sees him smiling at him too.

Dean moves out of the way of all the dogs. He points, leans down to Cas and whispers, “You and me. In that car. Sex.”

Cas covers his face in embarrassment, shaking his head. “You did not say that as quietly as you thought.”

“I don’t even care! I got the Impala!”

When Dean finally gets off his high and the present opening is over, he’s very tired. He probably used too much energy being happy. He collapses on the sofa with his eyes shut and has Albert on top of him, curled on his chest. He’s still very happy though. It’s definitely been his favourite Christmas so far, even beating the year he got a helicopter as a kid. He’s in the best and healthiest relationship he’s ever been in, he’s got the Impala, and he’s got a loving family he can’t be more grateful for.

“Hello Dean,” he hears a voice greet him after a while. “Don’t tell me to fuck off again. Your mother wants you in the kitchen. You haven’t helped at all.”

Dean smiles. “Fuck off.”

“Dean.”

He opens his eyes and sees Cas looking down at him neutrally.

“Cas.”

“Get up,” Cas orders.

Dean grunts, "Fine." He gets up, lifting Albert off his chest to rest on the sofa instead.

“You were very energetic earlier,” Cas remarks. “I almost thought Mariah Carey was playing somewhere in the background.”

Dean snorts. “You keep bringing that up. Just say you want me to dance on a pole for you.”

“Alright. I want you to dance on a pole for me,” Cas says blankly. “Now go help your mother, while I go put on that DVD.”

“Ugh. I hate you,” Dean sneers.

Cas smiles. “I hate you too.” He plants a kiss on Dean’s forehead and steps away to make a leave.

Dean grabs his hand before he does. “Hey. Seriously, we should go for a ride in the Impala later,” he suggests, winking at him. “If you know what I mean.”

Cas blinks slowly. “I’m just going to pretend that I don’t know what you mean.”

Dean grins. “Sure you are.”

“I will only accept an actual drive. But you have to help me with that puzzle.”

Dean sighs. “We have a deal.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading, happy holidays! :D


End file.
